Alert mail carrier credited with saving Barberton man’s life

BARBERTON, Ohio-- An elderly man is alive thanks to the woman who delivers his mail.

"Last Tuesday, I noticed he hadn't gotten his mail in two days, which was really unlike him so I kind of knew something wasn't right then," said Heather Rae with the United States Postal Service. "I knocked on his door that day and still no response."

After a few days of pounding on the senior's door with no response she alerted Barberton police, who along with the help of firefighters, got inside through a window Friday. Officials found the man injured on his bathroom floor where it appeared he had been for several days.

"They (police) came and told me that if I hadn't called that he'd been there so long he was dehydrated, hadn't ate, or drank and he was in really rough shape," said Rea. "If I hadn't notified them or called he probably wouldn't have made it much longer."

FOX 8 attempted to contact the man, but were unable to reach him. Neighbors said their postal carrier is more than a friendly face but a caring soul.

"It means a lot; I'm not here to look after her (mom) so knowing that someone like a postal worker would go out of their way... It means a lot," said Ryan Mollric, who was visiting her mother.